The Mountainland Continuum of Care Project is looking for 20 volunteers Thursday, Friday and Saturday to count and provide outreach to people experiencing homelessness in Wasatch and Summit Counties. KPCW’s Emily Means has more.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (or HUD) designed the annual point-in-time count to determine where unsheltered individuals and families experiencing homelessness live—and to better understand their needs and connect them with service providers. In Summit, Wasatch and Utah Counties, volunteers with the Mountainland Continuum of Care Project through the United Way of Utah County will hand out emergency supplies, winter kits and hygiene products to people experiencing homelessness, while keeping track of the number of individuals they encounter. Mountainland Continuum of Care Project Coordinator Heather Hogue says the data collected from the count will go to the state, then to HUD to inform policy making and service programs.
"We’re going to be going out at 4:30 in the morning on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and counting who is homeless on our streets, and what needs they have and what needs are not being met," Hogue said. "This gives us an idea of where we’re doing well as a community, and where we’re falling a little short as a community."
The Mountainland Continuum of Care Project works with local law enforcement and service agencies to determine the “hot spots” where people within the homeless population tend to congregate, such as 24-hour parking lots. Hogue says with limited visibility of the issue, it can be difficult to get definitive numbers, but the count gives a truer picture of homelessness in the community.
"Because it happens during Sundance in Summit County, it’s a little trickier to count, so we rely on a lot of the day counts that service agencies provide," Hogue said. "But we know that there is a significant population in Summit County, and there are service providers that are doing excellent work to help and meet the needs of people that are homeless in Summit County."
Trainings for the count will be held Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. for Wasatch and Utah Counties; 2 p.m. Wednesday for Summit County team leads; and an additional training for Summit County will take place 4:30 a.m. Thursday. The count begins at 4:30 a.m. and will wrap up by 7 a.m. To participate, email Hogue at heatherh@unitedwayuc.org.
